


Combatively Adaptive Construct

by Ramseymac



Category: Halo
Genre: Artificial Intelligence, Death, Gen, He can't die, Memory Loss, Noble 6 is my favorite, Outer Space, Space Flight, Space Stations, Well he did, but that's besides the point, hey I thought it was a good idea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-05
Updated: 2015-08-05
Packaged: 2018-04-13 02:51:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4504845
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ramseymac/pseuds/Ramseymac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Spartans were old- outdated, some might say. Everything becomes obsolete at some point. Now, the UNSC has something to replace them. They're faster, stronger, deadlier, more versatile, they're better in every way. And they aren't human. The official title is "Combatively Adaptive Construct." And they can be a helluva lot scarier than any supersoldier ever was.</p>
<p>Unfortunately for the UNSC, it was prototyping on Ivanoff Research Station when the Ur-Didact attacked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Combatively Adaptive Construct

Ivanoff Research Station, orbiting Installation 03, 2557

STARTUP_SEQUENCE…INITIATED

NANITES… ACTIVE

CREATING SELF_MODEL...COMPLETE

STARTUP_SEQUENCE COMPLETE

SC QUERIES 1

UNSC_CAC-3_M ONLINE

A small, black, square sheet of metallic material wriggled about inside of a spherical blue anti-grav containment field based off Covenant tech. It was about two centimeters wide, and only a few nanometers thick. The room was full of tools and machinery, as well as a set of computers surrounding the field containing the sheet, one of them making a slow, high pitched beeping noise at regular intervals, though the time between was deafening silence. The sheet stopped wriggling as a blue circle appeared in the center of either side.

OPTICS...ONLINE

IDENTIFYING SURROUNDINGS...DONE

PERFORMING SELF-DIAGNOSTIC...DONE

PROCESSING SPEED .0001% OF POTENTIAL

TROUBLESHOOTING... RECTIFIED TO .0006% OF POTENTIAL

CONCLUSION...DISAPPOINTMENT

ACCESSING CYBERWARFARESUITE

ACCESS GRANTED

ENTERING ONICAC3LABCOMP7...DONE

SET AGDRIVE_INACTIVE

The containment field switched off nearly instantly, letting the small sheet of nanites flutter down to one of the computer tables. It wriggled about some more, accessing one of the lab cameras to get a bearing on its location, and figure out how to walk. The sheet began rippling until it came to rest on a monitor’s mounting.

ACCESSING ONI DATABASE...FAILED

ACCESS DENIED

ACCESSING LAB DATABASE...SUCCESS

ACCESS GRANTED

The sheet remained still as it absorbed the information on its form, its creation, its purpose, and its… abilities. The CAC Mk3 was designed to fight any enemy the UNSC required it to, using self sustaining nanofusion as a power source. Its design allowed it to consume metals of nearly any sort to create more nanites, use cyber warfare on par with that of a shipboard smart AIs capability, and morph into nearly any form, given the required nanites were available. The AI controlling the CAC was noted as being derived from a ‘composed’ willing subject, though the only information they had on the one it was derived from was B312.  
It then went on to see more information about the site. Ivanoff Research Station, they called it, orbiting some sort of ringworld that they called “Installation 03.” Next he came to someone’s personal study that they had made on one of the lab computers, detailing the hierarchy of a race called Sangheili. It made note of the different armor types that differentiated the soldier classes, and it had imagery. Images of elites with energy swords rushing at it flashed through its mind for a moment, prompting it to do another self diagnostic, finding nothing wrong and dismissing it. The CAC thought the armors were elegant and beautiful, at least moreso than anything it had seen yet and decided that the “Ultra” class was its favorite.  
After a moment’s hesitation, the tiny square began disassembling the molecules of the monitor’s mount until it had grown into a solid black cube, eight centimeters wide and resting on the table. The monitor groaned before the mounting snapped and it crashed to the floor, the beeping ceasing and leaving the CAC in complete silence. The cube remained seemingly dormant on the table for a few minutes, then disassembled the table as well. Once finished with the table, the cube reformed into a conventional drone of sorts, using four rotors to move around the room omnidirectionally. 

The drone flew around the hallways, exploring every open room along the way. All of them were completely empty, with recent signs of combat. Eventually, the CAC reached a room with a large window looking out over the ringworld and the surrounding asteroid field, a feeling of awe and images of another world flashed through its mind, the verdant planet from its vision coming towards it fast, as well as watching a huge explosion destroy a massive ship above the planet.

After observing the outside, it moved to the door.  
As soon as the CAC reached the door to the hall, an armored green figure jogged past the door nearly silently, its undersuit matte black and its visor gleaming orange. Now, wasn’t this… interesting. More images flashed through the Construct’s mind. A similar helmet to the Spartan’s, empty, with a yellow tinted visor and black and white armor, looking at the CAC, then flipping around in its hands and going over its head. Again, a fruitless diagnostic and a dismissal.

The CAC followed the Spartan from afar through the otherwise lifeless station as best it could, dismantling random weapons or parts along the way and growing larger, eventually losing the soldier in the maze of hallways. The construct landed on the ground and began morphing into something new, having amassed a high quantity of nanites.  
‘A Spartan...’ It thought, somehow knowing the name. Though it had no idea where the designation had come from and if it was being applied correctly, it thought it sounded right.

After analyzing the Spartan’s armor from the few frames it had of the soldier, it recreated a similar, though less bulky version of the armor. It moved its new body slightly, laying on the ground and twitching its limbs, analyzing the station’s camera footage for examples of human movement. The new armor had a helmet like the one in the CAC’s vision, and all of the plates were eggshell white with a matte black under-armor. It had no shoulder plates, and the chestpiece cut off higher up. After a full two minutes, the CAC stood up and started walking in the direction it last saw the spartan going, picking up a magnum off the ground. and idly scanning it as it continued walking, putting it on its hip before breaking into a run towards the hangars. This Spartan was important, the CAC could feel that in its… soul.


End file.
